It's not all about Sinclair, though. Another Canadian who deserves high praise is Melissa Tancredi, who's third in tournament scoring with four goals and whose connection with Sinclair (a long-established one) has led to much of Canada's offence in this tournament. Midfielder Desiree "The Destroyer" Scott's physical play and superb tackling has been crucial as well, while the defence has done a remarkable job of standing tall despite a laundry list of injuries. This team has demonstrated offensive firepower, midfield possession and an often-solid defence, and if all of those components align Thusday, that could lead Canada to the podium.

The French can't be written off, however. For one thing, they have recent success against Canada; in fact, the 4-0 thumping they delivered to the Canadian women at last year's Women's World Cup directly led to the exit of Carolina Morace and the installation of Herdman. They also entered this tournament with a higher ranking, performed well in their group and gave Women's World Cup champions Japan a run for their money in Monday's other semifinal. France has a deep lineup, with Marie-Laure Delie, Laura Georges, Wendie Renard, and Élodie Thomis all notching a team-high goals thus far, and the Canadians will have to defend all of those players to pull off the win. If they're at all distracted or overconfident, this could be a disaster. However, the Canadians said all the right things Wednesday, including Tancredi's comment to TSN that "We have a job to do and we have to stay focused." If they can do that, Canada might just earn a medal here yet.